TEN WAYS TO GROW A CHURCH WITHOUT GOD

Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God
By Ray Baumann

I have spent many hours figuring out how to grow churches. I recently found some old notes that I had taken at a conference some years ago. To my surprise, I had an outline for success that was void of a Savior even being involved. Back then I focused on what attracted people to church. This is what my list read:

1.  "Leadership is key." This will be my number one way to grow the church without God. Thinking back, I would say that if I had a board comprised of wealthy businessmen, I'd have a great foundation for growing a church. You need resources to reach the community and what better way than to have many resources at your fingertips?

2. You want to create an oasis at church; let's take a few ideas from Starbucks. Starbucks created a community of coffee drinkers. Starbucks is less about coffee and more about a place to commune. That is what you want to reproduce on Sunday; a place where people want to gather.

3. Next, your church has to offer something others don't.  You have to ask yourself who is your target audience. Find out what your audience wants and give it to them. This includes the type of music, programs, length of service and other variables. You want people to know that all of their needs can be met at church.

4.  Spend money on logo and website design. You have to out market the church down the street. Mass mailings, newspaper ads and website traffic are key.

5.  Advertise in the phone book, at movie theatres and during school programs. Call the media every time you have an event to get free publicity.  

6.  Be creative with your presentations. Be sure to utilize all of the latest technology for your cool short video illustrations. To get the full effect, you must have video projectors and plasma TVs.  Lighting is also essential to set the mood during services.                                                                                                  

7.  Don't let anyone come to church and leave without getting their information. You have one chance to make a first impression. When you have a visitor they must be greeted and shown around the facility and introduced to other church members. Giving them a free gift, like a thumb drive with the church's information preloaded, is a nice gift.

8. Always be planning for your next event, whether it is an Easter egg hunt or Christmas drama. Every two months something big must be occurring to create excitement.

9. Have sermons focused around life issues such as parenting, managing money, eating right, getting along with others and making the best of your life.

10. Network. If you are going to grow a church, people must know who you are. Make it a routine to eat at the same places frequently. Always be involved with whatever is happening in the community. 

All of the above could probably have come out of a Marketing 101 textbook. Not everything on the list is bad, but it is the order that I had them in and what was missing. Looking back, it was an issue of priorities. I believed God wanted me to market for Him but the product was nothing our Savior would endorse. God's top ten ways to grow a church would look very different. You can see how quickly a church can become self-centered.  When the focus is attracting the unchurched or people burnt out on church we travel far from the biblical model. I am firmly convinced that you can get people to show up at your church if you have the money to spend to get them there.  Money-marketed churches will be packed with unsaved people who are looking to get something, and it is not the gospel.  If you attract them with entertainment you have to keep them entertained. 

Recently I overheard two pastors taking about a mutual friend that was asked to resign from a church because attendance was down by 10% and the leadership had decided to go in a new direction.  I said to myself, "You have to be joking." Church leadership is so brainwashed in this numbers game that many churches could care less about what is being preached on Sunday morning as long as the people and money are coming in by droves.

Church leadership must decide who is going to grow their church. You either grow it with man or with God. God's way produces disciples changed for life; man's way produces attendees that come as they are and leave as they were.

By Ray Baumann Email: Ray.baumann@mac.com Click here for bio and archived articles

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Re: Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God Posted On: 07/16/07 12:52:48 AM Age 37, WI I've thought of another name for this article...It could be called "Church Politics, Heed them and/or weep". We have tried or plan to do most if not all the things on this top 10 list. I work as a church secretary (starting my 9th year in Sept.), and trust me I have seen and heard it all. Our last Pastor was there for 15 years and left in 2005, and I got to see first hand over the span of these past 8 years the "inner workings" of a church, and trust me it wasn't and still isn't always pretty. We tried many new programs and they'd start of with a bang, but would then fade away after a while, because there was no deep commitment and the ones who started the programs (leadership), expected and encouraged everyone else to volunteer, without themselves setting any kind of example to follow. It didn't start out this was but in the last 3-4 years of his tenure, the sermons that our pastor preached it seems were not practiced as per what I saw and observed (the other 6 days of the week), which was very difficult for me to comprehend and understand. I saw and questioned too much it seemed, because he (the pastor) tried to "run" me out, by playing the game of "I have all the control, and I know how to manipulate the system." And the elders in which I was suppose to be able to go to and confide in, when I had concerns or needed guidance, did not want to listen nor deal with me, but only took what the pastor said about me as the truth. We now have a new pastor (just over a year now), a much younger one and while he is doing great things, the same kind of "good 'ole boy" system is beginning to rear it's ugly head again. (The "Don't ask/question, Don't tell" policy comes to mind.) I am not perfect and have been humbled many times, and some instances were warranted, but many were not, seeing as open and early communication (with me as well) could have spared alot of the strife for everyone. Anyhow you are probably wondering, "If she has had it so bad and still does, then why doesn't she just leave?" Trust me, as of late I have seriously considered it as maybe a sign, but still feel that God is not finished with me there yet, because I am there for Him and I love the people, and will not let a man (a few men) drive me away. Obviously this article struck a nerve, but I feel that these programs if used as a secondary focus and not the primary one, could and can be a great asset in helping win souls for the kingdom, as long as the heart and mindset are in line with what God commands and says in his word. Please pray for me and my family and my church, as things are slowly getting better, but we still have a long way to go. God bless! Re: Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God Posted On: 07/09/07 04:19:17 PM Age 49, KY I've been a senior pastor for 25 + years. I consider myself fairly conservative yet I am watching this generation (not just the young) and am constantly looking for new and inovative ways of reaching them with the Gospel. Are we moving back the legalistic days of the yesteryear when we lost a generation due to hard and often unbiblical attitudes. The Gospel message can never change but I am forever reminded of a verse in the Bible, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Cor. 9:22). The man who wrote this verse was found witnessing amidst a group of Areopagus. His concern was salvation not whether or not coffee was allowed in the sanctuary. I wonder if we are missing something? Re: Re: THREE WAYS TO GROW A CHURCH WITH GOD Posted On: 07/09/07 12:31:48 PM Age 63, OH Brother I agree but no man can do this but Only the Holy Spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit of Christ is the only one who can cause us to love for God is the source of all love. As to the speaking in tongues and the other things that 1 Cor 14 says MUST BE DONE FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF THE CHURCH. I did not write 1 Cor 14 but the Holy Spirit did. The Holy Spirit said these things must all be done to strengthen the church. I go to some churches and all the people are speaking in tongues in mass confusion and I do not detect the Holy Spirit in their speaking. It does not seem to be following Paul's instruction at all. Then I go into others that treat speaking in tongues as from the Devil himself. But in almost all the churches I go into their is one man preaching ( and he does not seem a prophet) not several prophets preaching. It seems that this instruction from Paul is not being followed and Paul said it must be done for a strong church. Our churches sure seem to be dying maybe this is one of the reasons. Lou Re: THREE WAYS TO GROW A CHURCH WITH GOD Posted On: 07/08/07 09:35:01 AM Age 63, OR Speaking in tongues and interpreting those unknown tongues does not in itself "grow the church". It is a gift...and a lesser gift... to be exercised appropriately and not necessarily all the time. What grows the church is fulfilling God's love in each believer's life for others (being Christ like) and teaching God's Word, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, precept upon precept. Re: Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God Posted On: 07/08/07 09:30:29 AM Age 64, OR Jesus made it perfectly clear when he said to the apostle Peter: "Feed my sheep...feed my lambs, feed my sheep". What more does church leadership need to understand about that? And certainly he was not referring to coffee and donuts, but His Word! Re: But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater... Posted On: 07/07/07 12:03:27 AM Age 53, IA The main purpose the church (the saved) assembles is for fellowship and worship. If a church consistently followed the "Ten Ways..." it would soon drive away the sheep and soon consist of only goats. Aren't we worldly enough with prizes given to those who attend the most services and dress up days (that just happen to coincide with halloween)??? Re: Query about #7 Posted On: 07/06/07 11:12:23 PM Age 53, IA It appeals to the flesh rather than the spirit. Re: Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God Posted On: 07/06/07 02:14:36 PM Age 30, GA i see this "top 10" all over the place. is anyone out there working on a list of "right on" churches for a directory we all can reference? WHAT HAPPENED TO ISRAEL WHEN DAVID COUNTED THE PEOPLE Posted On: 07/06/07 10:41:36 AM Age 63, OH Nearly every church I go to seems to count the people or count the converts to Christ. I think they need to read their Bible and see how displeased God was with David when He counted his troops for war. Judgment came on all of Israel for what David did. When will we learn to stop counting the troops. Do we not believe God is not a respecter of persons. If God was displeased with David for counting, He will be displeased with us for counting. When will we learn that numbers is not what God is looking for. He is searching to and fro through the whole earth looking for one man who fears His Word. Look at the story of Gideon. 32000 men showed up for battle but God whittled this number down to 300 to defeat the enemy. Why 300, because that is the number of men who feared God more than the enemy and did not trust in the fact that they were from Israel but trusted only in God Almighty. God did not need 300 but could have done it just as well with one man. After all one man and God makes a majority. Lou Re: Ten Ways To Grow a Church Without God Posted On: 07/06/07 08:48:08 AM Age 46, TN So what do you think are God’s top ten ways to grow a church?